Raf Simons to continue menswear line

Raf Simons will carry on designing his eponymous menswear line alongside his new responsibilities as Artistic Director at Christian Dior.

Its going to continue with absolutely no changes, a house representative told us. He will show as usual in June for Paris fashion week.

The spokesperson added that there will be no alterations to show frequency, ownership or leadership of the Raf Simons brand.

If Simons brand continues independently, it will represent a departure from Dior owner Bernard Arnaults approach to designers brands as witnessed in the case of John Galliano. Dior bosses were able to remove Galliano from his posts at Dior and Galliano because they own both houses.

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Dior never held a stake in Galliano predecessor Gianfranco Ferrés label, however, and executives may view Simons menswear design work as sufficiently removed from Dior to represent no conflict of interest.

It remains unclear whether Bill Gaytten, who assumed interim creative control at both Dior and Galliano, will continue to lead Galliano in light of Simons appointment. Dior representatives could not be reached for comment on Thursday morning.

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